Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-01-21
THE OLD SETTLER.


New York Sun.
"Grandpop," said little Peleg one
day, as the Old Settler sat by the
kitchen stove greasing his boots with
the nubbin OF Il tallow dip, twas you
ever buried alive?"
The Old Settler paused in his work.
He drew his hand slowly out OF the
boot, put the nubbin back in thesauc-
er ON the stove hearth, and sat the
boot on the floor. There was at first
a startled look in his eyes, but it dis
appeared as he pulled his spectacles
down from his forehead to his nose
and gazed over them at his lively
grandson, who was just then blowing
his breath ON a. window pane and
marking his name there with his finger.
"Ez look back an gether up my
reoomember' nces," said the Old Set
tier after a reflective pause, ~ can't
'azact'ly say fer sartin whuther Iwere
buried alive Or not, Peles fer SO many
things tha'd be likely to set theirselts
fast onter my mind has happened to
me ez I've pressed for'ard, up an
down, over an acrost an through
this mundane spear, th'tsech triflin'
little thing ez the one you mention Of
wouldn't hev ben likely fer to stick
thar, an O course I've forgot it..
But whuther ever was buried
alive, or whuthsr / ever wasn't
buried alive, I'm wilin' to state it
right here ez one o. the biggest facts
th't ever were mannyfactur'd th't
wasn't never buried dead, b'gosh, au'
ye kin spread it from the housetops!"
The Old Settler grabbed up his boot
again. and rubbed it vigorously with
the grease for moment. Peleg hav-
ing exhausted the surface of the win
dow pane with his Inscriptions, hustled
the cat out Of the rush-bottom rock
ing chair and sat down. His grand
father suspended his boot greasing
operation once more.
"Peleg," said he, "that's curious
question fer you to put to yer gran.
pop. Wat hev ye been SEEM or hear.
in tell on th't could ha' put it inter
yer conk?'
WELL" said PeIe., "Bill Simmou.
says to me the other day, That's ,
wonderful chap, chat granddaddy III
yours he says. How many times
has he been killed and wounded?' he
says. ! told Bill that guessed you
hadn't been killed and wounded many
times, not all at once, anyhow; but
that you had been about everything
else there was, except it might be bur
led alive. told Bill ] guessed you
hadn't been buried alive yet, You
jest ask him if he hain't,' Bill says,
'antl il he don't say that OF course he
has, and don't tell you all
about how it happened Bill says,
you can come over and suck for an
hour on our cider barrel with straw. ,
4, So Iguesss I'll 60 over to Bill's now,
,grandpop, and sea whether the cider
is worth it."
"Jis' hop on a leetle, Peleg," said
the Old Settler, with ominous mild
ness. "I've got time 'nought to give
ye some advice on different matters
, 'twixt now an the time yer gram
NANNY comes in, an it'll do ye good,
mebby, to hev ears an hear. Yev
had the ,nunnps on both sides, hain't
We, Peleg2"
Eyes, " said Peleg. ~, .,
"An'the measles an the hookin'
eough?' + -";@
Had en- both bad"
X. An was ye in wen the chicken-pox
visited your folkses, house7" 4.
- II WAS there. prandpOD." a.
That good" said the Old Settler,
1eanins back in his chair and getting
ready to talk. ''That's good. ANY
boy o. your age OF has had all them
already, specially the mumps on both
sides, is apt to sit it inter his head
that tn hain't nothin' wuss to come,
an th't he's ready to stan anything
th'tis in thfutur' an come ont hnnky,
less it nowt be a littlD rassel with q
family O. bars, or the unlortinit rum
min agin catty mount ez has been
dissy p'inted fer q week or 30 in Rettin'
his grub reg'lar, Consekently sech IL
Z boy kin 'preciate tho small passed. o,
tacts I'm bout to give him. fer they'll
Jhpw him b'gosh how he kin be mis-
to1S bout hisself. d. 81
sssYd MOwt or ye moWtn't ha' heerd
me say fors now th't Fen I were =
h boy L va h 6 ex mony boys e. I'll ID
nov, but whether rev heerd no OF
not, such we're ths fact. Jedgin'
from Wat i We SEQ boys nawadays,
! an specially durin' tie past short
I time. hair, : aiesred so Say u a
he better Ter folks in yinnsR,l Il the
sF:fac't were jist yicy vercl. to mo,
berry. The best boy livGd 81
our deestric, mkt years 40 N bst.
ten. we're Ajax Thunply 81 wA,n't
only good but he were tough 1enev-
scr went round tho country askiii 9th.
Il sers t1nva RI thar $50 - 49,.